Two young cyclists injured in separate hit-and-run incidents

In what has been a concerning few weeks for the safety of young cyclists on Britain’s roads, an 11-year-old and an 18-year-old have been injured in separate hit-and-run incidents while riding their bikes in Gloucester and Uckfield, respectively.

In Gloucester, an 11-year-old boy was taken to hospital with a head injury after being knocked off his bike by a driver while crossing a road on his way to school yesterday, Gloucestershire Live reports.

At around 8.20am, the child was cycling across Waterwells Drive in Quedgeley, around three miles from the city centre, after a driver in one lane stopped to let him past. However, another motorist, driving a red Mini Cooper, continued on in the next lane, striking the child and causing him to bang his head off the road.

According to police, while members of the public stopped to help the boy – who was taken to hospital with injuries to his head and legs – the driver failed to stop at the scene and sped off in the direction of Telford Way.

“Officers are now asking the driver of the Mini to make contact and give an account of what happened,” a spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary said.

Witnesses, or anyone with information or dashcam footage, have been asked to complete the police’s online form, quoting incident 74 of 24 January. 

Meanwhile, police in East Sussex have launched a similar appeal after an 18-year-old woman was left seriously injured on the road following a suspected hit-and-run.

According to Sussex World, the cyclist was found by police at around 7.30am on Monday 16 January on Bellfarm Lane, Uckfield. She was taken to hospital by air ambulance with serious injuries, while the damage to her bike indicated that she had been struck by a motorist.

Officers investigating the incident believe that the 18-year-old was hit by the driver of a gunmetal grey Audi A3, who failed to stop at the scene.

Police understand that the motorist was heading north in the vicinity of Uckfield High Street and had overtaken the driver of a yellow Vauxhall, travelling in the same direction as the cyclist, before the collision.

A 35-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of failing to stop after a road accident and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He has been released on unconditional bail until 18 April while enquiries continue.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact collision.appeal [at] sussex.police.uk, quoting Operation Cradle.

> Father and son named as cyclists killed in suspected hit-and-run

The two hit-and-run incidents come either side of the tragic deaths of a father and his 16-year-old son, who were killed in a suspected hit-and-run near Barnsley in South Yorkshire last Friday evening.

Dean Jones and his son Lewis Daines died at the scene after being hit on Royston Road in Cudworth, with the car involved later found abandoned in a neighbouring village half a mile away.

South Yorkshire Police have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, but police are still searching for another man.

In a social media, post Lewis’ mother Susan said she loved him “millions” and that the 16-year-old was “well loved” and “will be missed by many”.